We Brits evidently love an underdog breaking through. In 2007, two years before Susan Boyle dramatically assailed the musical world, a chubby and rather insignificant mobile phone salesman from Wales won the first ever ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ Competition on television.  The name of this unlikely winner singing Puccini’s aria ‘Nessun dorma’ was Paul Potts, and this is the story of his life. Well the Hollywood adapted version of it anyway.

In an attempt to re-conjure the spirit of Billy Elliot, in the movie Paul is from Port Talbot a heavily industrialised town in South Wales where he, and his shop manager, appear to be the only men not working in the Steel Mills.  Paul’s been overweight and bullied by the same local thugs since he was a school, and even his own father relentlessly teases him about his size and his obsession with singing.  Only his mother wants to encourage him …. to both eat and sing …..but then so too does the girl that he has been wooing online for the past 6 months.  He confides to both women that his dream is to go train his voice at School on Venice where the great Pavarotti is an invigilator.

He makes it to Italy but his insecurities and nerves get the better of him, and he messes up his big break big time.  Back in Wales and back in hospital ….. the man is also a walking medical disaster and is always breaking/injuring something ….. but this time its on the eve of his 2nd big break when he had been offered the lead with the local amateur opera group.

And then when one night when he is online chatting with Julz (who he has at last met in person) an advert pops up on screen for the new TV Talent Show,  and the rest is history.  Even the ubiquitous Simon Cowell (playing himself on screen) is shocked at how good Paul is …. as are we as it’s the ‘real’ Paul Pott’s voice that James Corden the actor is miming too. 

It’s a very cheesy biopic about an unquestionably talented man who simply didn’t really have quite the sad life of a loser until his big win as portrayed here.   In real life Potts got a Bachelor of Humanities Degree and was a respected local Liberal Democrat Counsellor for years.  However this piece of fiction is made more interesting with a very watchable performance by the likable Corden, known in the UK for co-writing an starring in TV’s Gavin & Stacey and in the US for his Tony winning performance for ‘One Man Two Guvnors’.  Great performances too by Alexandra Roach (Young Margaret Thatcher in ‘The Iron Lady’) as Julz, and the irrepressibly wonderful Julie Walters as the mother.

Despite their best efforts this is no way another exhilerating Billy Elliot rags to stardom story, but if you like a bit of shmaltz with your some opera, then this one is for you.

★★★★★★